An Uber driver who murdered his two children and tried to blow up his wife before making a botched suicide attempt was jailed for life yesterday (Mon).

Evil Endris Mohammed, 47, smothered his eight-year-old son Saros and daughter Leanor, six, with a petrol-soaked rag as they slept.

He then tried to cause a gas explosion in the family home that would have killed wife Penil Teklehaimanot, 37.

Mohammed stripped a cooker away from a kitchen unit and then punctured a pipe behind it to cause a gas leak at 3.30am on October 28 last year.

Endris Mohammed, pictured right after setting his car on fire in a suicide attempt, was 'the perfect dad' according to his wife Penil Teklehaimanot despite the Uber driver admitting killing their two young children

The Ethiopian asylum seeker started a small fire at the front door of the family home in Holland Road, Hamstead, Birmingham, hoping to trigger an explosion.

But Penil was woken up by the smoke alarm and managed to put out the fire with her bare feet and hands.

The children were dragged out of the house and Saros was rushed to Sandwell Hospital while Leanor was taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Despite the desperate attempts by doctors, both children were pronounced dead within a minute of each other.

CCTV images of Endris Mohammed shows him arriving at a petrol station before entering and buying a jerrycan full of fuel

The warped father told a psychiatrist that he killed his two children because he did not want them to suffer after he set the house ablaze

Mohammed would use the petrol he purchased at the garage to smother his two young children

Emergency services who arrived at the family home were met with a scene of devastation and the lifeless bodies of the two children

When he realised his plot to blow up the house had failed Mohammed drove 40 miles in his Uber taxi before setting fire the cab in a desperate attempt to kill himself.

Passersby spotted the flaming car at 4am in Butterton, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs., and he was left with severe burns to his head and face.

Mohammed admitted he unlawfully killed his children - claiming he was not in his right mind because of money worries - but denied two counts of murder and one of attempted murder.

Pictured is the burnt-out car that Mohammed set ablaze after murdering his children in an attempt to take his own life which he survived

On Friday a jury at Birmingham Crown Court convicted him on all three counts after just 30 minutes of deliberation.

Yesterday Mohammed, whose burned and disfigured face is revealed in his police mug shot, was jailed for life and must serve a minimum of 33 years.

Judge Justice Andrew Gilbart said: 'This country has a long proud history of welcoming those from abroad who flee from persecution.

FATHER HAD 'NO HISTORY OF MENTAL ILLNESS'

Mohammed was captured on CCTV buying a jerrycan of fuel

Inquiries conducted after Endris Mohammed killed his children showed he had no history of mental illness and contradicted his claims of being under intense financial pressure.

Detectives say only Mohammed himself knows the true motive for the horrifying killings - which followed an apparently ordinary day driving his taxi.

Commenting on the inquiry, Detective Inspector Justin Spanner said the killer's wife, Penil Teklehaimanot, last saw her children at about midnight in the lounge as they started a downstairs 'sleepover' with their father.

The officer said: 'There is no previous history, known to anybody, of any mental health illness with Endris Mohammed.

'As part of our investigation we spoke to people who were in his taxi on that day and they say he was happy, chatting and he seemed very normal.

'Penil also said there had also been no change in his behaviour in the events leading up to that evening.

'The only person who can give a true answer about the motive for what happened is Endris Mohammed himself.

The killer then drove to a road in Newcastle-under-Lyme where he was discovered next to his taxi having suffered burns to his head and hands

'However, sometimes it's what they don't say that's important. He has never mentioned trying to kill his wife and has not acknowledged the fact that he has tried to kill her, whilst acknowledging that he has unlawfully killed his children.

'They have separated on two previous occasions and on one of those occasions it was about him not pulling his weight at home, not working and therefore not contributing to the home.

'We have carried out financial inquiries. We found that his bank account was not overdrawn, Penil was working full time and bringing good money into the house.'

Praising Penil for her bravery in using her bare hands and feet to put out the fire as she was joined by a neighbour, Mr Spanner added: 'They went into the lounge and they actually thought the children were sleeping at that point.

'They carried the children out to the front lawn and at that point they realised the horrific circumstances.'

'Both of you (Mohammed and his wife) had done so, and established your lives here in Birmingham, along with your two children.

'However that secure and apparently happy family life was destroyed by you.

'That safe haven she shared with you and her children was destroyed by you in the

most appalling manner imaginable, for this was a terrible criminal enterprise on your part, designed to kill all three of your family, partner and children, as they slept.

Mohammed's wife, Penil Teklehaimanot, 37, had said on the day her children died she went to bed with everything normal but then was woken by the fire alarm and saw the flames. Pictured: the house being inspected by forensic officers after the blaze

Mohammed, pictured in a court sketch, had denied murder and attempted murder on grounds of diminished responsibility

'Your partner has now lost her whole family and her home at one fell swoop.

'She gave evidence and has conducted herself in this trial with dignity and restraint, and in her evidence she was generous enough to speak of your good qualities as a father and partner.

'Her victim impact statement speaks of the fine qualities of these two happy, cheerful, engaging and rewarding children of whom any parent could be justly proud.

'Instead of their growing into adulthood, and their talents and qualities being allowed to flourish, you have deliberately snuffed out their young lives.

DEVASTATED MOTHER: 'HOW COULD ANYONE BE SO COLD-HEARTED?

The tragic youngsters' devastated mother, Penil Teklehaimanot told how there was 'no bigger pain in this world, than losing her children

Following the trial last week, devastated mother Penil Teklehaimanot paid a heart-wrenching tribute to her children in a statement released by West Midlands Police.

The 37-year-old told how there was 'no bigger pain in this world' than losing her son and daughter and said she was still 'constantly looking for them..'

She said: 'Saros and Leanor were taken away from me in a way which has had a profound effect and changed my life forever.

'Their loss has left a gap in my life that will never be filled.

'It is indescribable pain to lose loved ones in such a brutal manner. All I can say is that there is no bigger pain in this world than this experience..

'I cannot comprehend how anyone could be so cold-hearted.

'At a time like this, there are so many feelings - despair, anger, sorrow, confusion and so many questions still about why this happened?

'No one ever thinks that they'll be saying goodbye to their two children. In our faith community we always try to give our young, the very best.

Paying tribute to her 'amazing children', Ms Teklehaimanot 'This loss was also felt in the entire community reflected in the huge numbers of people who came to pay their respects at their funeral'

'They seem too full of life and all the promise of things to come. Their futures stretched out before them - like a book waiting to be read.

'Saros and Leanor brought so much happiness and joy to my life.

'Saros's teachers will tell you that he was the most polite well-mannered child. He was a pleasure to teach.

'He was one of the most amazing writers you could ever meet.

'The other children in school described him as really clever and smart, someone who always got lots of house points, someone who played nicely, was funny, nice, kind, a football fanatic, a son, a brother, a fighter, a fantastic and true friend.

'Leanor's teachers will tell you she was a wonderful, mature girl because she would take on any challenge that faced her to the best of her ability.

'She would always listen to advice and try to use this to improve academically.

'She was well-behaved, cared about and had respect for doing the right thing. She always considered the needs of others but was competitive especially when it came to sport.

'She was a very popular member of her class, a daughter, a sister, a young lady with lots and lots of friends.

'This loss was also felt in the entire community reflected in the huge numbers of people who came to pay their respects at their funeral.

'When justice has been done the entire community and I can have some closure.

'I hope we'll all gain strength from realising, as we look back on Saros and Leanor's life and we remember with pleasure, the effect they had on everyone in such a short space of time.

'I am still constantly looking for them both.'

'Their mother escaped death, but she must endure that tragic loss as she rebuilds her life.

'What makes that all the more poignant is that they loved you, as did your partner.

'Your children looked to you for guidance, protection and love.

'They trusted you implicitly and were enjoying your company even on the night of their murder.

'You repaid their trust in you by killing them.'

In a victim impact statement read out in court, his wife Penil said: 'Losing Saros and Leanor left a gap in my life that will never be filled.

'It is an indescribable pain to lose lives, ones in such a brutal manner - there is no bigger pain in this world than this experience.

'There are so many feelings: despair, anger, sorrow, confusion and so many questions still about why this happened.

'Nobody thinks they will say goodbye to a youngster.

'They seem too full of life and all the promise of things to come, their futures stretched out before them.'

During the two-week trial the court heard Endris arrived in the UK from Ethiopia as an asylum seeker in 2006.

Emergency services rushed to the couple's home in following a blaze at the property in Handsworth, Birmingham, at around 3.30am on October 28 last year

He got together with Penil, a fellow asylum seeker, but they split up when she suspected him of cheating on her before they got back together and went on to have two children.

He worked as taxi driver but found himself in financial difficulty after having to pay £250 a week to rent the car from Enterprise.

The day before the murders, he was captured on CCTV buying three litres of petrol in a black fuel container from an Esso garage.

On the night of the killings, Mohammed calmly played Xbox with son Saros while Leanor slept on the sofa and his wife went to bed upstairs.

After the blaze, fire investigators found traces of petrol in the kitchen, lounge and hall area of the family home.

Timothy Raggatt QC, defending, said: 'Here is a man of (previous) good character, a devoted husband who has done something unspeakable.

'He is at a loss to understand it himself.'

An NSPCC spokesman today said: 'This was a tragic case in which two young children were robbed of their lives by a man who should have been protecting and nurturing them.

'It is crucial that anyone with a concern about a child speaks out no matter how small they think it is as it could save a life.

'Contact the NSPCC helpline anonymously on 0808 800 5000. Childline is there for children and young people 24/7 on 0800 1111 or via www.childline.org.uk.'